


Copper Rings And The Issues They Bring

by TerribleTerribleOrbs



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Hopeful Ending, Kravitz is a good boyfriend, M/M, Post-Episode: e041-049 The Eleventh Hour Parts 1-9, Self-Hatred, Self-Worth Issues, Taakos going through some shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-25 16:14:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20914922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerribleTerribleOrbs/pseuds/TerribleTerribleOrbs
Summary: "He didn’t have velvet clothes or family heirlooms or even a decent frying pan, but he had jewelry. Cheap, plastic jewelry. Colored glass in gold-plated copper that stained his fingers green. Bright pink plastic jewels set in nickel, hanging around his neck and glinting brightly. It was all he could afford, and it was cheap, but he didn’t have anything else."In which Taako has a love/hate relationship with those dollar store rings you'd only find in a goody bag, and Kravitz tries his hand at gift-giving.





	Copper Rings And The Issues They Bring

**Author's Note:**

> You kno I hadta hurt my son. There are probably grammatical errors - I'll fix those later!

When he was younger, Taako loved jewelry. He still does, of course--at least three fingers are decked out in rings at all time, his ears are pierced in six different places and his neck is sore from all the necklaces he wears. But when he was really young, maybe thirty-two, and still caravan hopping with empty pockets, he really  _ loved _ jewelry. He didn’t have velvet clothes or family heirlooms or even a decent frying pan, but he had jewelry. Cheap, plastic jewelry. Colored glass in gold-plated copper that stained his fingers green. Bright pink plastic jewels set in nickel, hanging around his neck and glinting brightly. It was all he could afford, and it was cheap, but he didn’t have anything else. He rarely had money and when he did, it still wasn’t enough for anything  _ real _ . Sometimes he stole some particularly douchey caravan leader’s pocket change before finding his next wagon train, and he’d have to pass by shop fronts and jewel vendors. He’d slow, and his fingers would twitch near his pockets, but  _ someone _ \--no, he was alone, that wasn’t right-- _ he  _ would convince himself to save it.

This was never really a problem. It still looked good on  _ him _ , anything did, and he wasn’t spending hundreds on fashion statements like all the dumbass rich folks did. Even when he was rolling in that hot Sizzle It Up! money, he kept the plastic jewels and copper rings. He wasn’t good with money but he knew how quickly it could be lost. He didn’t know much, but he knew that. Food, clothing, shelter--he could suddenly be without it, one day, and he couldn’t chow down on diamonds and emeralds.

So, not a problem. Until his date with Kravitz, anyway. Taako’d gotten his favorite bling (sans rings, obviously) and was fucking  _ rocking _ this cute little dress he’d thrown on. He looked hot as fuck. As did his date, who was equally decked out. Gold-plated rings and beads provided the only spots of color on Kravitz, but they paled in comparison to the shining silver pendant bearing his goddess’s emblem. 

And then Taako realized something. It was real silver. Hard and heavy-looking, shined to perfection. Expensive. And the little gold ornaments and shit--not gold plated. They shone just as brightly, untinged by green. And Taako… Taako was wearing some shitty probably-copper necklace he’d found somewhere. He felt cheap. Cheap, and just as lacking of real value as any of his dumb plastic gems. Pretty on the outside, absolutely worthless upon closer inspection. 

He faded out. Came back when Kravitz called his name somewhat sharply, his brows furrowing the barest hint of worry. 

“I’m fine, Bones,” He said smoothly. “Just thinking about this amazing fucking bowl I’m making.” If Kravitz didn’t believe him (he didn’t), he kept quiet about it.

When Taako got home he just… stared at himself in the mirror. Fingers trembling, the urge to cast Prestidigitation and just magic the fake motherfuckers hanging from his ears into real diamonds. He snapped, and they turned into two tiny lumps of coal. He cast Silence and just let himself scream. Let himself curse Sizzle It Up!, that fucking Thirty Garlic Clove Chicken, and Sazed. (And himself, obviously).

Kravitz, completely unsurprisingly, asked Taako out again about two weeks later. The date happened to land on a day when Lucretia  _ wasn’t _ trying to kill him with vigorous training, so that was nice. He doesn’t wear much jewelry this time, just one of his few actually silver necklaces and some rings that could pass for real gems. He tries to find a nice outfit. All of his outfits are nice, of course, but not all of them are  _ nice _ , y’know? So he picks out something that would go for more than twenty bucks at thrift shop. Good fabric and long-lasting dye, shit that could actually last him a full (Elven) lifetime without  _ too _ much wear and tear. 

It’s a nice date. Kravitz picks the place, this time, a nice restaurant in Goldcliff. Or--it’s supposed to be a restaurant. Kravitz hadn’t been there in about two hundred years, and the place had apparently been torn down and replaced by an apartment complex. Walking around the city is fun, though, especially with the setting sun coloring the whole city, well,  _ gold _ . Goldcliff is an expensive place. Richest city in Faerun. Everyone wears nice clothes and gold on gold on  _ gold _ . 

It’s a nice date. Taako feels like shit after.

A third date. Kravitz wanted a  _ third date _ . This time Taako picked the place, an  _ actual _ restaurant he visited about eight years back. The food was good (not as good as Taako’s) and the ambiance or whatever was pretty romantic. A week later, Kravitz is eagerly calling and asking about a fourth. He acted  _ chill _ about the whole thing, and it  _ is _ sort of rapid-fire compared to Taako’s usual dating style, but it’d been a minute for the both of them. Taako hadn’t dated since Sizzle It Up!, and he didn’t even want to  _ think _ about how long it’d been since Kravitz got to  _ bone _ down (heh). The fifth date was, unfortunately, a no-go. Lucretia was really pushing him and the other ⅔ of Tres Horny Bois to their limits with the whole training thing, more so now that summer was coming to a close. One reschedule later, though, and they were out on the town.

Kravitz seemed nervous. Jittery. It was fucking Taako’s already sort of shitty vibe. So he asked what the hell was up.

“What the hell is up with you?” He’d asked, confident that Kravitz had already learned when he was genuinely mad and when he was cursing for the hell of it. Kravitz jumped, bit his lip, rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. 

“It’s just, um, been a little while since I’ve gotten this far in a relationship.” He said slowly.

“Yeah man, I mean, same boat here,” Taako replied. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t.

“Yeah,” Kravitz said quietly. Then, squaring his jaw, he dug his hand into his coat pocket and pulled out a velvet-covered box. “I don’t know if things have changed since I was, you know,  _ among the living _ , but in my time it was only polite to present the person you’re quarting with a gift, so,” He flipped the box open to reveal a beautiful looking bracelet. Taako could tell just by looking at it that it was expensive. Deep, sparkling purple gems laid in gold. It suddenly felt really hard to breathe. “If you don’t like it I’m happy to return it,” Kravitz said quickly, his own panic rising when Taako didn’t respond. “I just know you like purple, and ametrines are very much that color, so,”

“Kravitz,” Taako forced out. It was horribly choked. His date stopped mid-sentence, blinking in surprise. 

“Taako?” He asked, worrying coloring his voice.

“This-” Taako gestured jerkily to the bracelet. “It’s--it’s too much, Kravitz! I can’t--how much was it? You shouldn’t-” He cut off in frustration. Swallowed nervously. “You shouldn’t spend that much on  _ me _ , Krav, It shouldn’t--it doesn’t belong on, on-” He was talking with his hands now, pointing hopeless to himself. The gift-giver himself was simply staring, mouth parted in surprise. 

“But-” He started. Taako cut him off.

“No, Krav! This  _ shit- _ ” he held up a ring-encrusted hand. “Is fake. Cheap. Gold-plated copper and plastic. I shouldn’t have that, Kravitz, you should just wear it.” And wow, look at him being selfless and shit. It was just--he didn’t deserve these nice things. He grew up hoarding fake jewels, dragging plastic bobbles and accessories from one caravan to the other. If someone called him cheap or worhtless he’d magic missile their ass without hesitation, but. He knew it, deep down. His own fucking family didn’t want him. His shiny gold plating would rub off eventually, and they he’d just be some shit chunk of metal. And Kravitz… Kravitz shouldn’t spend money on  _ that _ . Taako’d feel guilty. He was opening his mouth to say just that when two arms suddenly wrapped themselves around him. 

After a few moments, he let his own arms return the gesture.

One arm lifted from his back, there was a rush of air and a sound like ripping fabric, and then he was being half-dragged, half-walked into what he quickly recognized as his own bedroom. He let himself be sat down onto the bed, heard the thunk of Kravitz’s head against the backboard. Then something cold and metallic started to inch down around his fingers, and he snatched his hand close to his chest. 

“Kravitz-”

“Taako,” Kravitz interrupted, voice warm but stern. “I  _ want _ you to have this. If you really feel uncomfortable, I’ll take it back, but please don’t refuse it because you don’t think you  _ deserve _ it.” He sat up, slightly, and tilted his head to catch Taako’s eye. “You sacrificed your life repeatedly to save a town of people and saved the entire  _ world _ from crystallization just a few months ago. Liking bright, plastic things isn’t any reason to deny yourself something.” And Taako wanted to say that wasn’t it, not really. He’d done fucked up shit in the past, he was fucked up shit, and the whole gaudy jewelry bit wasn’t even the  _ half _ of it. 

“You know you deserve this, right?” No, he didn’t. He really, really didn’t. But with Kravitz, this unfairly dignified motherfucker giving him these heart-eyes, all concerned and shit, he could pretend. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are appreciated :) 
> 
> Follow my Tumblr (multifandom, lotsa Taz rn) @igosploosh !


End file.
